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Definition

An aspect is a perspective, the way in which something can be viewed, whether tangible like a building or intangible like a business organization. Multidimensional objects, whether tangible or intangible, challenge out ability to ""see them all at once."" For example, a building can be viewed from the outside from any of 360 degrees or any of several elevations up to straight down on the building. The inside can be viewed through the windows. The inside can also be viewed from a myriad of points within the building. All of these views are 'true', but only provide a portion of the 'truth'. It is only through the collective understanding of multiple views that the whole can be appreciated and understood.

Inquiry process --
Aspects are an essential part of the inquiry process. For example, the social system aspects form the foundation for the business design construct that guides the iterative inquiry used to understand and design business organizations.

Pragmatic limits to views --
There is a limit to the useful views one takes of a system in order to understand it. The level of views taken depends on the purpose of the inquiry. A prospective tenant of a building may view its appearance, setting, size, and traffic flows. On the other hand, a telecommunications service provider may view the circuitry and wiring.

Aspects and business model elements --
An aspect is a particular perspective of the whole that draws attention to particular attributes or variables of the whole. Inquiring by aspect followed by the integration of the aspects, leads to a comprehensive understanding of the whole. Elements, or business model elements, are the particular parts of a system, as is the business organization. These parts are interrelated, the network of the parts and their interrelationships being responsible for the behavioral characteristics, thus capabilities, of the whole. The elements are a place for the answers to the inquiry. The elements and their structure, such as the business model, provide the form the answer to the inquiry takes.